We left for Sg Lembing Museum at 11:30am. Sitting on top of a small hill, the museum is housed in an old bungalow once used by the mine manager. It offers a comprehensive overview for this historic small town and the mines. Sg Lembing was once the deepest mining area in the world (vertically downwards – around 27-30 storeys below and mostly submerged). The museum houses a collection of mining artifacts. All the exhibits were well laid out and have clear explanations displayed in English and BM. Very informative indeed.
After the museum, we headed to a famous Bak Kut Teh
restaurant. The place was crowded and
the service was poor. We were even told
to wipe our own table!! Nevertheless, I
still prefer and missed my PJ old town Bak Kut Teh. Anyone please ‘ta bao’ for me?
Our group was divided into three groups as some of
us would like to hibernate in the house/room; the youth preferred to hang out
at Lembing Riverview Resort for a tournament; while the remaining 8 of us would
like to visit the Underground Tin Mines.
We stopped by at one of the hanging bridges before the Underground Tin
Mines. There were lots of visitors and the
bridge was wobbly. Well, that’s the fun
of it! Once you crossed the bridge, the
path takes you to a few local shops that sell local food/products.
The Underground Tin Mines is situated not far from
the Museum. The journey started with a
short 'train' ride followed by walking in the long tunnel which is well lit and
ventilated. Guides are stationed at
certain points in the mine. Some parts
of the walkway are wet. There's a
simulation, games and informative signboard retelling the golden days of the
mine in English and BM. Stalactites and stalagmites adorn the “ceiling” and
“ground” respectively and are still growing and forming. At the end of the tunnel there is a steep
flight of staircase to see the kiew (lift that miner used) after which we
walked back to the exit. The tour is quite an experience. One gets a glimpse of how the life of a miner
of yesteryears working laboriously under the harsh environment.
The tour soon came to an end and we departed back to
our comfy nest, spending some time bonding with each other. Our dinner was a big feast of instant noodles! We intended to clear off the supply before
departing for home the next day.
Most of us went to bed around 11pm. It was a long day and soon I doze off to
slumber land. However, I was awaken
around 1:30am. I felt itchy around my
neck, arms and thigh. It was still early
and I wanted to fall sleep again.
But the itchiness kept me alert.
Finally, I got up and checked and realised that there were rashes all
over my body. Took a bath at 2:30am and
the swelling went down a little. Lie
down again on the bed but I was wide awake.
“There goes my sleep”, I’ve decided to just hang around until it’s time
to get ready for the waterfall adventure.
The 4WD picked us up around 5:30am and took us to
the morning market for breakfast. Our
group was divided into two as one 4WD could only accommodate 16 pax. Siang Ling, me and the 3 kids were in one 4WD
while the rest of them in another 4WD.
We departed the town at 6:30am and the journey took around 45
minutes. There were some youngsters in
our jeep that were making lots of noise.
I felt a little annoyed by their dirty jokes. But turned out they created some excitement
in the next 45 minutes of a boring ride.
Well, to consider it as a ‘boring’ ride may not be fair after all. In fact, the 4WD took us through the jungle
trails, crossing several streams, driving up and down the hill slopes and muddy
path in full speed. My daughter
commented that the ride was like a roller-coaster.
I enjoyed the chill morning breeze caressing my face
as the 4WD drove pass the bumpy road. It
freshen me up as I was beginning to feel a bit tired. After all, I have had very little rest the
past two days. We stopped by at a
designated area to watch the sunrise. I
reckon the sunrise here is better than Panaroma Hill.
The 4WD continued to drive on the uneven trails
until we reached the river bank. We waded through the waist level muddy river
assisted by a rope. Then slowly and
carefully, we made our way through the rainforest. The first part of the hike was quite straight
forward and relatively easy for my girl.
I held on to her hands and kept her distracted by talking to her. The second part of the hike was slightly
challenging, where we needed to walk through shallow water, on mud and rocks where
small waterfalls form. There were ropes
tied from one tree to another, assisting the climbers to cross over certain
tricky path. Elyse was doing fine,
although a little slow at times, with some assistance. Well, it is one thing to hike by myself; it
is another thing to assist someone in hiking.
Of course the later consumes more energy and hard work. I am grateful for Irene and Colin to see to
the needs of my little princess and offered a helping hand.
Finally, we saw the magnificent waterfall. It was truly a sight to behold. There were a lot of tourists who reached there before us and have found a nice spot to rest, while some choose to take a dive in the pool. The waterfall is about 150 meters high and the water was cold and refreshing. There were cheers from the crowd as the beautiful rainbow made its debut. The exhausting journey up the waterfall was definitely worth it!
The guides prepared instant cup noodles and Milo (water taken from the falls) for the tourists to quench our thirst and satisfy our hunger.
Elyse wanted to dip into the water but the coldness frightened her
off. At last, Tay carried her on his
back in the pool so that she can waddle her feet in the chilly water. I joined in the fun shortly as she was
desperate for her mom to be with her.
My only regret is I failed to swim nearer to the rainbow and see it at different angles as some bloggers described it as transcendence.
Fun time sure passed by swiftly. Soon, it’s time to hike back down. A group of us had left earlier and faster. I assisted Elyse almost one quarter of the journey, then we met a Kuantan guy who called himself a lone ranger. He offered to carry Elyse at the back as we passed through those slippery rocky boulders. I was a bit reluctant to accept the offer, as I wished for Elyse to experience hiking by her own ability. On the other hand, I did not want to cause human traffic jam as there were many other tourists at the back of us. Also bearing in mind that there’s a group waiting for us way far ahead. The gentleman moved speedily though he’s carrying an 20kg load on his back. I followed him closely. Without assisting my girl, I hiked pretty fast too. hehee… *shy
At last, we crossed the muddy river again and crawled back into our 4WD. There goes another 45 minutes of a gruelling journey back to Sg Lembing town. We washed up, packed our bags, and headed back to the town for lunch. Next, we drove to Kuantan to fuel up our car. Did I mention that there’s no petrol station at Sg Lembing? We separated into two groups again as 2 cars were driving back to Malacca directly, while the other 2 de-toured to KL before heading home.
As Siang Ling did not rest well the past two nights, I took over the
wheel for the first 3 hours. Perhaps it
was a long weekend, the traffic was awful.
Thanks to Siang Ling’s F1 driving skill, she manoeuvred her car in
between the snail traffic and brought us back home safely by 11pm. The rest of them reached home earlier at
about 7:30pm.
It was so much fun hanging out with this awesome group of folks. Personally, I love the Rainbow Waterfall – it
is definitely a hidden gem in Sg Lembing.
What an amazing experience exploring the natural beauty in this old
little mining town! And to all my DG
members, I look forward to our next adventure!
p/s: Majority of the photos are contributed by my DG members.
